1. Technical Field
The inventive concept relates to an antifuse, and more particularly, to an antifuse memory device capable of storing a plurality of bits, and a method of programming and reading the same.
2. Discussion of Related Art
An antifuse is an electrical device that performs a function that is opposite to that of a fuse. Whereas a fuse starts with a low resistance and is designed to break an electrically conductive path, an antifuse starts with a high resistance and is designed to create an electrically conductive path when the voltage across the antifuse exceeds a certain level. A high voltage is applied to a dielectric substance within the antifuse, which causes the dielectric substance to breakdown, thereby enabling current to flow through the antifuse. A detected level of the current flowing through the antifuse can be used to read a logical value of a single bit stored in the antifuse. However, since the method used to breakdown the dielectric substance is imprecise, the antifuse is unable to store a plurality of bits.